Description

Here is a method that will train organists properly for the traditional role of accompanying hymns and providing suitable service music. It is a comprehensive approach that introduces the techniques of organ playing step-by-step.

Aimed at pianists of grade 5 standard plus, The Church Organist begins by introducing the organ - its console, manuals and stops - before exploring the pedals, good manuals and pedals technique, coordinating hands with feet, proper use of stops, the basics of improvisation and many other skills important to today’s church organist.

Christopher Tambling is Organist and Master of the Schola Cantorum of Downside Abbey. He was an organ scholar at Canterbury Cathedral and St Peter’s College, Oxford, and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists.

Includes many musical examples to illustrate:

Using 1 manual and 2 pedal notesUsing 2 manuals and 2 pedal notesInvolving easy manual and coupler changesInvolving slightly more manual and coupler dexterityRequiring easy volume changesUsing the 2 hands on different manualsUsing the swell pedalPieces introducing 3 and 4 pedal notesTwo manuals and three pedalsi) Solo and accompanimentii) Changing manualsFour pedalsi) Solo and accompanimentii) Manual and registration changesFour pedals – more advancedFive pedals in two groupsSix pedals in two groupsHymn tunes using two to four pedals